Hyderabad, January 20: The expansion of the Union Council of Ministers by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday, without inducting any one from Andhra Pradesh, has caused deep resentment among the ruling Congress MPs of the State. Though it was expected that at least one MP each from Telangana and Coastal Andhra regions would find a berth, three to four MPs from each region aspired to become a Ministers at the Centre and naturally their hopes were shattered, after too much of speculation in the media and in political circles about immi nent induction of some Ministers from the State.
Political observers feel that the on-going separate Telangana imbroglio on one hand, and too many aspirants from both the regions on the other, have left the Prime Minister with no option than to altogether shelve the idea of inclusion of any one from the State in the Council of Ministers. It is felt that induction of one MP from reach region would have triggered trouble, with other seniors feeling let down and ignored by the High Command. There was also a possibility of some of the disgruntled MPs joining the Jagan bandwagon, as their claims were not considered. It is precisely to avoid such an unpleasant situation that the Prime Minister had opted against taking any one from the State, it is felt.
There were too many claimants from he State for Ministerial berths is evident from the fact that some of them openly canvassed their candidature and made statements saying there was nothing wrong in aspiring and accepting Minister posts, even though they were demanding bifurcation of the State.
In Telangana, while the TRS and other separatist forces are demanding the resignation of MPs and Ministers from the region, in support of separate Telangana State, the leaders like Mr Madhu Yashki Goud, Mr G Vivek, Dr K Keshav Rao, Mr V Hanumantha Rao, and Mr Manda Jagannadham expressed the view that they could more effectively fight for separate Telangana even after accepting Minister posts at the Centre. It is to be admitted that not less than half a dozen MPs from Telangana, and an equal number from Seemandhra were in the race for the plum posts, making it very difficult for the High Command to decide in favour of any one.
From Seemandhra also, there are many senior leaders who are elected for the fourth, fifth time on Congress tickets, but they did not get any post in the Union Ministry so far. Mr Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, Mr Kavuri Sambasiva Rao, and Dr Chinta Mohan are in this category. There are some more seniors like Mr N Janarhan Reddy, Mr Kishore Chandra deo, Mr Nandi Yellaiah, who are elected to Lok Sabha some times and to Rajya Sabha some times.
The induction of one or two from among all these leaders would have caused much annoyance for the others, creating flutter in the State party, and the Prime Minister might have thought it was better to avoid such a situation. However, the non-induction of anyone from the State has also caused equal, if not more, resentment now, notwithstanding the fact that the Prime Minister has made it clear that this was only a minor reshuffle, and there will be major expansion in May after the Budget session of Parliament came to an end.
Soon after it became known that none from the State were being inducted, many senior MPs from the State expressed their ire openly. They questioned whether there was no MP from the State who is eligible to become Minister at the Centre. Mr Rayapati, Mr Kavuri, Mr T Subba Rami Reddy, Mr Manda Jagannatham were among those who questioned the action of the High Command in not providing a chance to anyone in the State. They pointed out that Kerala, which sent only 19 Members to Parliament, has been given six Minister posts, while Andhra Pradesh, which sent 32 members to the Lok Sabha, has got only five posts. Mr Rayapati is reported to be toying with the idea of quitting the Lok Sabha and also to the party membership, and some more are likely to follow suit, according to indications.
The AICC general secretary in-charge of the State has started cajoling the MPs, assuring that when a major expansion takes place in May, some of them would be inducted. It is learnt that the Congress president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, is also looking into the matter and she is likely to entrust the task of pacifying the angry MPs from the State to some of the senior leaders.
NSS